Control mechanism for a marine diesel engine



CONTROL. MECHANISM FOR A MARINE DIESEL ENGINE Filed June 18, .1956

R. ERXLEBEN Sept. 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet l 72221212 for -RINHOLD E/FXZEEf/V ,Sept. 3, 1957 R. ERXLEBEN CONTROL MECi-XANISM FOR A MARINE DIESEL ENGINE Filed June 18, 1956 s Sfieets-Sheet 2 Javny/ar P m/042) [RXL taz/v 1977 OR/YE VS 2,804,782 CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A MARINE DIESEL ENGINE Filed June 18, 1956 R. ERXLEBEN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 3, 1957 Juvenfar RF/NHOZD [IV/VLEBf/V CONTROL MECHANISM FGR A MARINE DIESEL ENGiNE Reinhold Erxleben, Berlin-Steglitz, Germany, assignor to Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellsciiaft, Stuttgart-Unterturkheim, Germany Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 592,159

Claims priority, application Germany June 20,1955

7 Claims. (Cl. 74-472) The present invention relates to a control mechanism for a marine diesel engine and, more particularly, to a mechanism for controlling the fuel supply and the reversing gear of the engine, such mechanism being of the known type in which a control lever is swingably mounted on a rotary member and is thus capable of optional pivotal adjustment fore and aft and to the left or to the right, one adjustment serving the single purpose of controlling the engine power, while the reversing gear is set to neutral, and the other adjustment serving the dual purpose of shifting the reversing gear to forward and rearward speed and controlling the engine power.

Prior control mechanisms of this type were designed to control engines of the carburetor type which do not require the full power position of the power control element for the purpose of starting the engine.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved control mechanism of the type indicated which is primarily applicable to diesel engines which for starting purposes must be adjusted to full power.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved control mechanism of the type indicated in which the engine is accelerated when the control lever is turned from its central neutral position and approaches the forward or reverse position to thereby ensure a high idling speed of the engine at the instant when load is imposed on the engine.

Moreover, it is an object of the invention to facilitate the starting operation by the equipment of the control lever with a starting switch. Further objects are to provide yielding detent means for yieldingly detaining the control lever in its various positions.

Further objects of the present invention will appear from a detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof following hereinafter with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is in no way limited to such embodiment, and that the terms and phrases used in such detailed description have been chosen for the purpose of illustrating the invention rather than that of restricting or limiting the same.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the novel control mechanism taken substantially along the line I-I of Figs. 2 and 3,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the control mechanism viewed in the direction of arrow 11 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side view of the control mechanism viewed in the direction of the arrow III in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a partial section taken substantially along the line IVIV of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating various angular positions of the control lever.

A bracket'lt) fixed to the structure of the vessel at a suitable point carries a vertical panel 11 welded theretoprovided with a circular aperture 12 covered by a plate 13 which overlaps the panel 11 and is welded thereto. The plate plate 13 is provided with a central hole 14 2,804,782 Patented Sept. 8, 1957 ICC and carries an annular bearing sleeve 15 welded thereto which is coaxially disposed with respect to the hole 14 and flush therewith. The elements 10, 11, 13 and 15 thus constitute a stationary support.

A circular disk 16 is accommodated in the aperture 12 substantially flush with the panel 11 and is mounted for rotation about the axis A of the bearing sleeve 15 which will be called the primary axis hereinafter. The disk 16 has a central aperture constituting a seat for a bushing 17 which is fixed to the disk 16 by a key 18 and is journalled in the bearing sleeve 15 and projects therefrom for rigid connection to a vertical disk 19.

The hollow stem 20 of a mushroom-shaped member 21 which contacts the disk 16 extends through the bushing 17 and on its projecting end carries a split housing 22 which is clamped on the stem 20 by means of a clamping screw 32. This housing has a slot 24 extending diametrically with respect to the primary axis A and carries a pair of horizontal bearing pins 25 and 26 traversing the slot 24. A disk-shaped fuel control element 27 is rotatably mounted on the pin 26 and on its periphery carries a spherical head 28 which is suitably fixed to the disk 27. This head 28 is connected by suitable means, such as a push-pull cable 29, with the control element of the fuel injection pump of the diesel engine, such control elementdetermining the quantity of fuel injected and the consequent power produced by the engine. When the spherical head 28 is in the position holding the cable 29 in the position shown in full lines, the engine is idling at slow speed. When the head 28 owing to rotary motion of the housing 22 about the primary axis A travels along the arc of a circle about such primary axis in one direction of rotation or the other starting from the position shown, it will increase the quantity of fuel fed to the engine andthe consequent speed thereof, provided that the angular position of the disk 27 with respect to the housing 22 be maintained. When the disk 27 is turned anti-clockwise on the bearing pin 26 by the means now to be described, the spherical head 28 will move the cable 29 to the position shown at 29' and will thereby reduce the quantity of fuel to zero to stop the engine.

A pin 30 carried by the disk 27 at a suitable distance from its center is connected to the pin 25 of the housing 22 by a pair of toggle links 31 and 32 which are interconnected by a pin 33. This pin again is connected by a link 34 to the end of a rod 35 which extends lengthwise of the primary axis A through the stem 20 of the member 21 and through the latter and projects therefrom, the projectingend bearing a transverse pin 36.

The member 21 is provided with a diametrically extending groove or slot 37 (Fig. 2) accommodating the hub portion 38 of a control lever 39 which is pivotally mounted by means of a pin 40 for movement about a secondary axis B (Fig. 2). This secondary axis is spaced from and extends transversely to the prlmary axis A. The pin 40 extends transversely through the groove or slot 37 below the axis A. The hub portion 38 of the control lever is provided with an aperture 41 which is traversed by the pin 36 guided in vertical slots of portion 38.

Pivotal movement of the control lever 39 from its normal position shown in Fig. l in full lines to an inclined position indicated by the dash-dotted line 73 will shift the rod 35 to the left with reference to Fig. 1 thereby causing the toggle 31, 32 to collapse and to turn disk 27 anti-clockwise thereby lowering the cable 29 to the position 29' whereby the engine will be stalled.

When the control lever 39 is turned about the axis A it will. rotate the member 21 and the housing 22 secured thereto to thereby accelerate the engine in the manner described hereinabove. i

' Moreover, means are provided for clutching the disk uriit 1'6, 17, '19 alternatively either "to the rotatable member 21, 22 or to the supportilt), 11, 13. Such means are controlled by movement of the .lever 39 about the secondary axis B and preferably comprises a first clutch pin 43 which is movably guided in a'bore of the member 21 extending parallel to the axis A, and a second clutch pin 44 movably guided in a bore 'o'f'the support plate 13 and likewise extending parallel to the axis A at the same distance thereform as does the pin'43. Both pins 43 and have the same diameter and are adapted to alternatively engage a hole 45 provided in the disk'16. As will appear from Fig. 1, the pin 44has a collar 46 and .is surrounded by a helical pressure spring 47 inserted between the collar 46 and a cover 48 secured to a boss 49 which .is welded to the support structure '13, and has a bore accommodatng the pin '44 and the spring 47. In this way, the pin 44 is urged towards the disk 16 and will enter the bore 45, provided that the pin 43 therein is released by the control lever 39 for movement to the left and disengagement from the bore 45. The bore is provided in the bottom of a-circular groove 50 provided in the front face of the disk 16.

The control mechanism further comprises .a Geneva member 51 which is rotatably mounted on a horizontal pin 52 carried by and projecting from the supporting plate 11 beneath the plate 13. This Geneva member .has a radial slot 53 for engagement by an actuating pin 54 carried by the disk 19.

It will be seen from Fig. 3that when the hand lever 39 assumes its normal angular position about theaxis B, i. e.

about pin 40, it will urge clutch pin 43 into engagement with the bore 45 of the disk 16 and will thereby .cause the disk 16 to be clutched to the rotatable member zl. When the control lever 39 assumes its normal angular position with respect to the axis A, it will, therefore, keep the disk unit 16, 17,19 in the center position in which the actuating pin 54 holds the Geneva member '51 in the central position shown in Fig. 3.

The Geneva member 51 has-opposite horizontal arms each'provided with a plurality of holes 55 serving for the attachment to theGeneva member 51 of suitable connecting means, such as a push-pull cable 56, at a selected distance from the bearing pin 52. This cable serves to actuate the hydraulic servo motor controlling thereversing clutchof the engine. Rotary motion of the Geneva member 51 about the bearingpin 52 from the central neutral position shown in Fig. 3 will thereby cause the cable 56 to be lifted or lowered. Assoon as the Geneva member 51 exceeds a predetermined angular position, the reversing gear will become operative to connect the'engine with the propeller and to thereby impose a load on the propeller. It is an important feature of the present invention that before the Geneva member will reach one or the other of such angular positions, the concomitant rotation of housing 22 and of the disk 27 carried thereby will have resulted in a substantial increase of the idling speed of the engine thus preventing the engine from'being stalled by the load imposed thereon. When the disk unit 16, 17, 19 continues its rotation after it has tilted the Geneva member 51 to the reversing gear-engaging position, the pin 54 will disengage the slot 53 and a circular cam ridge 57 provided on the disk'19 will engage one or the other of two concave cam faces 58 provided on the Geneva member 51 to thereby lock the same in position, while the disk 19 is free to continue its rotation. Therefore, the pilot after having swung the control lever 39 about the primary axis A to the reversing gear-engaging position, may further turn the control lever 39 about the axis A to increase the fuel quantity injected and the consequent power produced by the engine.

Preferably,.the control lever 39 is provided with a knob 59 provided with a cavity60 accommodating an electrical starterswitch .61 operable by'a press button 62 which projects out of the cavity 60, Whenthestarter button 62 is depressed it will put the starter motor into operation to therebystart the diesel engine.

Preferably, resilient detent means are provided to yieldingly detain the control lever in its various angular positions. In the embodiment shown, the hub portion 38 of the control lever 39 has a transverse bore 63 accommodating a pair of detent balls 64 and a spring coil 65 therebetween which urges the detent balls into detent recesses 66 provided in the side walls of the recess 37. In this manner, the control lever 39 may be yieldingly detained in its normal position and in the position indicated by the line 42 in Fig. 1.

Another detent ball 67 is inserted in a bore of the panel 11 and is urged by a helical spring 68 into engagement with a recess 69 provided in the back face of the member 21 thereby tending to yieldingly detain the member 21 in the normal position shown in Fig. 2 in which the reversing gear is set to neutral andthe engine is either idling or is stalled.

The operation of the novel control mechanism isas follows:

When the hand lever 39 assumes the normal position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 being yieldingly held therein by the detentballs 64 and 67, theGeneva member 51 is kept in the position shown inzFig. 3 thereby causing the pushapull cable 56 to maintain the reversing gear in neutral'condition. Let it be assumed that the engine is at rest and that the pilot wishes to start same. For this purpose be will swing the hand lever 39 about the secondary-axis B to the position indicated by the line 42 in Fig. 1 also shown in Fig. 5, causing the detent balls 64 to engage the recesses 66 and causing the disk unit 16, 17, 19 to be unclutched from the rotatable member 21 and simultaneously to be locked with the support plate 13, and the pilot will then swing the lever 39 about the primary axis A to the right or to the left, for instance as indicated by the arrow 70 in Fig. 5. As a result, the disk unit 16, 17, 19 and the Geneva member 51 will be kept locked inthe central neutral position, while housing 22 turns about the primaryaxis A causing the spherical head 28 to pull cable 29Vsideways and upwardly thereby adjusting the fuel pump to the injection of a larger quantity of fuel. The quantity so adjusted depends on the angle of displacement of the control'lever 39 in the direction of the arrow 70. When the fuel quantity has been adjusted to the amount required for starting the diesel engine, the pilot will press the button 62 to thereby start the engine. As soon as ignition takes place, the pilot will turn back the hand lever 39 about the primary axis A to the central position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and will then swing the hand lever 39 about the secondary axis B back to the normal position shown in Fig. 1 to thereby cause the-disk unit 16, 17, and 19 to be cltuched to the rotaryrnember'Zl, 22 and to be unlocked from the supporting plate .13.

When the pilot now wishes to drive the vessel in forward or rearward direction he willturn the control lever 39 about the primary axis A in the direction of the arrow 71 for forward travel or in the direction of the arrow 72 for rearward travel. This has the effect of increasing the idling speed of the engine and of tilting the Geneva member 51 to an angular limit position in which the pin 54 disengages the slot53 and the cam 57 engage the mating cam face 58. When reaching this limit position, the Geneva member 51 acting through the intermediary of the push-pull cable 56 causes. the reversing gear to become efiective to clutch the propeller shaft to the engine. By further swinging the control lever. 39 about theaxis A beyond the angular positions indicated by the dash-dotted lines 74 in Fig. 3, the engine power will be increasedwhile the Geneva member 58 is kept locked.

When the pilot wishes to stop the engine he must swing'the control lever 39 about the primary axis A t9 the ceutral'position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and must then swing the control lever 39 about the secondary axis B to the position indicated by the line 73 whereby the toggle linkage 31, 32, 34 will be collapsed lowering the cable 29 to the position 29 thereby reducing the fuel feed to zero. At the same time the pin 44 will lock the disk unit 16, 17, and 19 in position.

From the foregoing description it will appear that the novel control mechanism described is of particular utility for a vessel equipped with a diesel engine and with a reversing gear, preferably with a reversing gear of the type operable by a hydraulic servomotor, the novel control mechanism enabling the pilot in a simple manner to set the quantity control element of the fuel injecting pump of the diesel engine to the positions required for starting, warming up and stalling the engine and for travelling forwardly or rearwardly and to set the reversing gear optionally to neutral or forward or rearward travel. If desired, the control mechanism may be also used for putting the starter motor of the diesel engine into operation. In this manner, the control of a marine diesel engine and of the reversing gear thereof is considerably facilitated as the various controlling effects can be produced by manipulation of a single control lever. Also the novel control mechanism requires a minimum of space.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Control mechanism for the fuel supply and for the reversing gear of a marine diesel engine comprising a support, a member mounted therein for rotation about a primary axis, a control lever pivotally mounted on said member for movement about a secondary axis spaced from and extending transversely to said primary axis, a fuel control element rotatably carried by said member, a linkage connecting said fuel control element with said lever and including a rod extending lengthwise of said primary axis through said member, a disk mounted on said support for rotation about said primary axis, means controlled by movement of said lever about said secondary axis for clutching said disk alternatively either to said rotatable member or to said support, at Geneva member rotatably mounted on said support and connected with said reversing gear and provided with a radial slot and with cam faces, an actuating pin mounted on said disk for cooperation with said slot, and a locking cam provided on said disk for cooperation with said cam faces, whereby said fuel control element may be actuated by swinging movement of the control lever either about said primary axis or about said secondary axis, the swinging movement about said primary axis being also operative through said disk and said Geneva member to actuate said reversing gear.

2. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said means controlled by the movement of said lever about 'said secondary axis comprises a first clutch pin movably guided in said member and a second clutch pin movably guided in said support, said pins being adapted to alternatively engage a hole provided in said disk.

3. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said actuating pin and said locking cam provided on said disk are so correlated to said radial slot and said cam faces of said Geneva member as to cause the latter to be displaced from a central position keeping said reversing gear in neutral to one or the other of two actuated positions shifting said reversing gear to forward or reverse speed, while said disk rotates from a central position in one or the other direction to an actuated position, and as to hold said Geneva member stationary while said disk rotates beyond said actuated positions.

4. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said rotary member is provided with resilient detent means cooperating with said control lever.

5. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 further comprising resilient detent means provided between said control lever and said rotary member, and resilient detent means provided between said rotary member and said support to thereby yieldingly detain said control lever in any one of a plurality of angular positions about said secondary axis and to yieldingly detain said member in at least one angular position about said primary axis.

6. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a starter switch carried by said control lever.

7. Control mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which said linkage includes a pair of toggle links connecting said fuel control element with said rotary member, and a link connecting said toggle with said rod and adapted when actuated by pivotal movement of said control lever about said secondary axis to cause said toggle links to move said fuel control element to a zero feed position to stop the engine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,321,098 Morse June 8, 1943 2,588,650 Morse Mar. 11, 1952 2,759,578 Manzolillo Aug. 21, 1956 

